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Friday, November 29, 2013

Hi, I'm Carli and I'm a fabriholic.

I've been a quilter for two decades and it was only during our last move that I really began to realize how bad it was. I know this is very important step for me to take. I need to declutter my pallet of fabric. To me its a reawakening and I've got so much it must be done.

The bins contain years of seeking and finding just the right fabric for the kind of quilting art I make. I didn't really have much time to do more until recently. So here is goes, I'm culling my stash and let me know if you are interested in some awesome dated fabric.

Yes, I'm mot going to buy fabric for the first 6 months of 2014! WOW, I'm getting a little nervous and I'm resisting the pressure in my little brain to delete it. But know, once I make a statement I intend to keep it.

So our lovely, talented Jess of The Elven Garden has decided and taken action to cull her stash. So I'm getting on board too! Are you going to join us, be brave and take this important step.

What I'm saving for?

I am going to save my money for a new computerized office inside my studio!

Fabriholics Anonymous

GOALS:

- To use the Stash I already have!

- Finish UFOs without distraction by shifting to other new beautiful fabric.

- Stop the insanity of constantly buying the latest and greatest fabric.

- Save the $$ I spend on stashing. For me, this is going to mean I start saving for a long arm. That dream simply isn't going to happen while I spend every little bit of my quilty earnings on fabric. And it's a dream I desperately want to happen.

- Destash the fabrics that I realize I am never going to use.

FABRIC FAST RULES:

1) No fabric purchases for 6 months beginning January 1, 2014.

2) At 6 months reevaluate status and decide whether to keep going for full year. Evaluation July 1, 2014.

3) Create a UFO list and complete them!

4) Exceptions

Backing: purchasing a backing to finish a quilt top is permissible. However, attempting to use fabric in your possession for a backing is preferable.

Books and Magazine purchases are allowed as they are not fabric. Notions acceptable too.

Swap Mama Fabric: if hosting a swap you are permitted to by fabric to execute swap duties, but you may not join a swap simply for the sake of being able to buy fabric!

Quilts for Publication: if you are making a quilt for a publication and need certain fabric to execute it correctly then that is a major exception - who can blame you?

If you are like us and would like to commit to not buying fabric next year, we would love the moral support. Solidarity in numbers and all that. We have a button you can grab:

And if you're keen to join us, Rebecca has started a linky to keep us all honest.

Over the next week or so, I'm going to make a list of all my UFOs so I know what I'm working with next year - and I will be destashing as well at some stage soon. So, are you up for the challenge?

Friday, November 29, 2013

Phew, this has been a stretch for me to complete this and attend to the commission art pieces being requested for Christmas!

But luckily I had made up Chevron Braid pieces for the completion of my Summer Dresdens and then didn't use it and when I put these together on my new design sheet I new right away it must be.

I think it looks really cute and add's a new twist to this quilt version for anyone else who might want to do something unique into any pattern.

As you may have understood about me and Good Earth Quilting; we love to recycle and its not only from our new fabric scraps, its from clothing, vintage mostly and I love the old fashioned 1970's corner background fabric for the 4 corner blocks. I used these pressing bars in all the applique vines on the flower border!

I am total fan of these Quilter's Press Bars. Here's why:

The perform a great function of using up scraps in 12 inch lengths and so you can make your bias vine on any quilt fast and its cheap!

These bars come in several widths and I think I paid $5.99 several years ago and so just a reminder that you don't always need to go and buy bias strips for vines ect to applique onto your quilts.

So here it is, the full size version without the 1 inch border colour on yet! What do you think?

Its pretty interesting when you play with what was originally intended in any pattern! I am a pattern changer and its good to be. See what happened with the Mystic Quilter did in her version.

I'm linking up with the project hosted by the lovely Jess of The Elven Garden.

Take care, don't eat too many cookies! I'm being very inventive with cooking Gluten Free for Christmas this year. I've been GF for 2.8 yrs now and this is the first Christmas I'm really baking cookies that bring back out earlier years as a family.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Well, you know, I've always wanted to learn how to knit. Its just one of those things that well, I might have not really shared but, what the heck!

Yes, I chose to start such an idea with the idea that I could whip off several to add to stockings. That was untill I tried to complete one of them. I have loads to learn and would like to know any ideas or links you may know of to help me get onto the right track. Please?

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Well, I heard a few days ago that my postcard had arrived in France. Lin emailed me and I wondered how come I had nothing in the mail? Then it arrived yesterday and its so cute, I love it! Thanks Lin, now I understand that a fabric postcard really means a postcard! Click on Lin's name for a look at the many postcards that Lin has received, yeh!

Of course, I had to do a little crazy stitches in this postcard for Lin.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

I had to make it mine so the leaves were not cut and appliqued, I simply used large rick rack for the leaves and machine appliqued those into place. If was fast and easy to do, I encourage quilting out of the box.You can see the hand embroidery I did on some of the Orange Peel blocks, just for texture.Did you notice the cute buttons on the basket vine?

I really enjoyed making the baskets from crazy piecing and this looks really cute. I hand embroidered the basket handles with a big primitive stitch.

Sorry about all the fussy edges, the wind was blowing and I my hands were getting cold.But I must say these Quilters Press Bars that I won at a quilt retreat many years ago were the perfect thing again.Here's why:

to buy them they cost around $7.99 at a quilt shop, you get five sizes

You can make the 6 inch sections the patterns calls for in a snap

You don't have to buy several colours of bias tape and I find the bias tape is never the colour you want.

And so tada, here it is, the flower border complete. I'm finding this quilt is looking a little busy for me.What do you think?It is square, but I couldn't find a moment without windy playing havoc with the quilt top pinned to the fence.

I recommend this pattern, its quite lovely and I'm so glad that I'm doing another funky quilt again. Yeh for funky quilts.I'm linking up with The Elven Garden and the lovely Jess who is hosting this MOTO quilt along.Thanks for dropping by and reading my blog. I love sharing stuff and don't forget that I'm organizing a linky party for Crazy Quilt Along 2014. More details are coming along in a few days.Take care, Carli in snowy northern B.C.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

I am a really durable quilter. I know this about myself and as I start each project I think of the people who wore the blouse or dress or shirt.

I live my life. I do activities with my spouse that are very special, like fishing, we both love it. My hubby has a special view on life and we're just so glad we met! We're coming up on our 29th anniversary.

Rick made this ice sculpture in 2010 winter, it was a perfect winter of just enough cold and just the right kind of ice on the river. Check this posting here for more on his ice scultpture.

I like sharing with readers what inspires me and I generally think that my environment inspires me. It translates directly into the kind of crazy quilting I design and make.

On the theme of inspiring readers to come along on my Crazy Quilt Along 2014, I have dug out my semi complete Blue Modern Crazy Quilt.

This where I ended up after several months of simple hand stitching. Its also where the hand stitching stopped. I have a rule of thumb with my CQ's, the blocks themselves tell me when they are done!

Screwy heh? But's its the truth. I knew my work in stitching and CQing was making a change right along side all of the other CQ's I was working on. I was making a change and yes, its like that, I felt the change inside me.

As you can see, my Blue Modern Crazy Quilt had to take a back seat to my mega project of the Smithers Centennial 2013 Quilt. My BMCQ sat in the pile under the watchful eye of my son in uniform and the CN Train featured in the Smithers Centennial 2013 Quilt was the focus.

This is sneak look up close on some of the wierd setting these blocks are in. At least this is what I was thinking while working on the mega project, I kept sneaking a look at it and for some reason it frowned at me!

So my BMCQ was refolded placed back on the pile in favour of some quick machine quilt feather practice for the upcoming completion of the centennial quilt and all the feathers going into it. But if you are enamoured by centennial quilts or trains, do check out this posting.

I check out colours where ever I am, in nature, by the ocean or on the river!

This butterfly is from my Smithers 2013 Centennial Quilt, its the green crazy that is in the top left corner of the quilt.

Lovely examples of crazy quilting

Above the latest commission piece that has been calling to to me. The Burgundy Crazy Quilt that has been mailed off to Calgary. More on this later.

This is what my Crazy Quilt tackle box looks like, so if crazy quilting is about to infect you, start by visiting your local thrift stores for bargains of excellent notions and thread!

Hope you enjoyed my story of how I find inspiration and what takes place when you are most excited. I've heard that some of you are not happy with the commenting system in Google. Let me clarify some of this change and why its happened.

Google developed this system to make it impossible for people to comment when really they are a super focused spammer! So this change is about who you really are and I urge you to think about getting a Google + button and be content that its about letting the blogger know that you are not a spammer.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

When I teach crazy quilting classes, I like to expose quilters to a variety of ways that making a single block can be achieved and there are many ways such as in the posting by SewKatieDid where she used little bits and bites of fabric and used them up to make a unique small zippered purse.

There is really no right way or wrong way of piecing. I use my own method and many of you will find your preferred way.

All my images of my work are copyright protected and everyone reading this knows it.

So the above block is an example of using an orphan block and making it the focus of the block.

While in this example of an organized quilter who decides to use all of a cinnamon bun of Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

The quilter who made this quilt below, my friend Yo, started with a whole bedding sheet and just added chucks of fabric appliqued onto the whole sheet as she went. Yo told me it was done over several winters.

A modern quilter might sew strips of scraps together as this example below.

Or you might decide if you're in a hurry to use a cheater fabric and carry on from there!

I suggest if you are going to follow along with the Crazy Quilt Along 2014 on my blog, you'd might want to visit some thrift shops and allow yourself to buy

clothing just for the fabric value!

Creating unique crazy quilts is all about taking risks that most are afraid, unsure of their choices and all you need to do is take a few risks!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Some one said to me that they thought crazy quilts were just quilts made by 'crazy' quilters. Uhm I must mull on this one....

Modernity brought so much to us, to our homes and communities, but the embroidery stitches here are the same stitches used hundreds of years ago.

Have I got your ideas going, melding together into a big soup pot of stitches? I hope so because this is just the start of something fun, something fairly quick to make and without reservations, you must do and be, together.

Friday, November 8, 2013

I am a very frugal hand stitcher. I recycle as much as possible of new fabric, tools repurposed, clothing that has a texture fitting my CQ fingers. I am in love with hexies too!

So this is how I usually start a new Hexie Fit, I start by taking out one of the few of the perfect cut paper cuts from a quilters garage sale and I lightly tack it to cereal board, cut out the exact shape for the future paper pieces.

Then I proceed and fully tack the original perfect paper hexie shape to the final cereal board. This way you end up with two exact hexie shapes, one for the paper piecing you'll hand draw and cut out AND the perfect hexie shape that you have taken your quilting ruler and made the outside lines for a 1/4 inch allowance, see below the finished "Fabric" shape from which you'll hand cut all your shapes for piecing.

By all means, do use cereal board for all sorts of other shapes for templates. Now, lets get to the best part, the Hexies!

These little things all cost money to buy them in plastic or whatever. And its so easy to make them yourself! I'm all for buying these little pieces all cut if you are making something that takes thousands of paper pieces for your hexies.

You can fussy cut these little beauty's and have even more fun!

Recycling at its best and frugal too!

Up against a window, they are fun, would be awesome in a curtain you know?